Pirates Make Starling Marte Extension Official; Contract Details

The Pittsburgh Pirates have officially announced the six year extension for Starling Marte, which was agreed to yesterday. Marte is signed to a six year, $31 M deal with two option years. The deal guarantees one of his free agent years, and buys out control of three of his free agent years.

Jon Heyman has the breakdown of the contract. Marte will receive the following salary amounts:

Signing Bonus: $2 M

2014: $500,000

2015: $1 M

2016: $3 M

2017: $5 M

2018: $7.5 M

2019: $10 M

2020: $12.5 M option

2021: $13.5 M option

Buyout: $2 M

The option years come with escalators, so the overall deal could be greater than above. Right now it looks like Marte's deal is for a maximum of eight years and $55 M. Yesterday I wrote about how the Pirates could get a huge value from this extension.

Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim lives in Bradenton, where he provides live coverage all year of Spring Training, mini camp, instructs, the Bradenton Marauders, and the GCL Pirates.